Notes About Nothing

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

These little tidbits were adding up so I thought I'd give you all a glimpse into what has become my everyday life.

So here it is, if only slightly less entertaining than "You might be a Red Neck if..."

You know you live in Hollywood when...

- you have to account for movie premiers or movie/tv show sets when calculating your daily commute time and route

- you see Jay Leno filming "Jay Walking" while at a stop light

- paying $4 to park at the gym for an hour doesn't surprise you

- heels and full make-up are necessary when going to brunch, the movies, or just to get coffee

- the black cars driving around madly are not cops, they are paparazzi

- a trip to the beach entails a 45 minute drive, each way, on the freeway, searching for a parking spot for over an hour, carving out a tiny patch of sand, and drowning out the sound of hundreds of drunk, dressed up, wannabe volleyball players at "6 Man"...but you just might get to see a pod of dolphins surfing

- you see a "star track" picture and think "man i was right there today, must have just missed them!"

- Whole Foods is not the only place to shop that will cost you your whole paycheck. Gelsons, Henry's and even Trader Joe's are right up there!

- Celebrity whims really do dictate everyday life items. For example, you're hard pressed to find a place to get a good smoothie anymore, now it's all about the fresh juice.

- you wonder whats up with the thundering swarm of helicopters overhead and then realize that your office is only a few miles away from the Beverly Hills Courthouse and Linsday Lohan is there, again

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Some of you know this news has been coming for several weeks now, but I'm so excited to be able to officially state that I am now a full-time, benefitted employee of Cohn&Wolfe.

I've been working, very hard, as an intern for this agency for 5 months and thankfully my sweat and tears have not gone unnoticed. I've been given responsibilities and opportunities beyond my experience and in a time of major restructuring at the agency, I've secured a position as Account Coordinator.

I'm excited to begin my career at an agency with people I admire and can learn so much from. And I'm so thankful for a secure job in a still very difficult time.

So if you ever find yourself in West Hollywood, please call me and I will be happy to show around my new corporate life!

After 5 months renting a room temporarily, the time has come for me to find my own place to settle into. And settle I have, into a cute one bedroom in the Larchmont neighborhood of Hollywood. Yes, I can still see the Hollywood sign from my front steps.

Sometimes I can't believe I'm old enough to have a real job and an apartment by myself; It's like I suddenly have a whole adult life. I'm making some mental adjustments, but soaking it all in and so looking forward to my life in LA.

So, welcome...

While it is still a work in progress, but I'm so excited to make this place my very own little home!!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Sometimes I forget that not everyone grew up being so surrounded by boys that they had to fight tooth and nail to get in on any action and consequently harbor a deep seeded competitive spirit...

If you know me, you know that regardless of the game, I am very competitive and really don't much like to much. I guess I'm a Higerd in that way. Well today, a friendly office Easter egg hunt turned into a fierce fight for dominance, spearheaded by yours truly.

At the emailed command of GO, I was off running, heels and all, grabbing every egg I saw. When Jillian and I spotted the same small green egg under a chair in the conference room, the whole game changed. We both charged ahead but there was something in the way...the big glass conference room door. Now, when you have such advance maneuvering skills as I, such silly obstacles are meaningless, but poor Jillian was not as quick and ran right into it!! I had to refrain from laughing too much when we realized that she had actually hurt her hand pretty good. She was still a good sport and even finished just behind me in second place with 12 eggs. I won with 13. I had to gently inform her that you simply don't mess with Hannah and her win. That is, if you want to walk away physically or emotionally unscathed. After all...all's fair in love and war!

There was an additional prize for me, the Victor. An iTunes gift card and permission to leave early for the weekend!! Too bad I was on deadline and still had several projects to tie up, but I was able to leave about an hour early and had some time to go to the Grove for some much needed retail therapy.

Gotta say, if I couldn't be home to help dye eggs and have hunts with my nieces and nephew, this was certainly the next best thing!!

I love pranks. I have since I was a kid running around Crowley Lake toilet papering friends houses and putting rubber snakes in my mom's bed (got her every time!). I pride myself on thinking up and executing a great prank, like filling 2 entire bedrooms with crumples newspapers up to the waist or convincing a group of boys to streak then stealing their clothes and driving off. But I can also appreciate and accept being bested by a formidable opponent. Such was the case this April fool's day.

I'd been working so hard this week trying to stay caught up on numerous client projects and was feeling a huge case of the thursdays. I had just decided to go down the street for some coffee when we all received an email informing us of a smorgasbord of free Krispy Kreme donuts in the Lobby. Now since I'm really trying to be smart about what I eat, I passed it off initially. But being encouraged by the rest of the interns and really needing to get away from my desk, I follow the march out to the elevator. On our way we passed Andrew, who had sent the email, and one of the interns Jillian made sure to thank him for the heads up. We were all literally salivating in the elevator, Kripsy Kreme's generally have that effect on people.

But the very minute the doors opened to the Lobby, Jillian yelled, OMG April Fools!!! I started laughing hysterically, especially when the others went red with embarrassment and refused to go back up stairs. They desperately tried to think of a lie to tell to make passing Andrew's office less humiliating, even going so far as trying to claim they saw some big celebrity out on Sunset . I however, walked straight into his office, congratulated him on his concept and delivery, and made it known that April fools day or no, he could most certainly expect a response.

The best part was about 3 minutes later, the CEO came barreling in cussing up a storm. He was genuinely upset, not so much to be pranked but more so for getting his hopes up about Kripy Kreme. And needless to say, they have been on everyones mind all day...

So I have this friend Nicole...she used to be an intern with me, but she was just too fabulous to stay one for long and was quickly hired up to the big time... let me just tell you about her.

She is really new to PR after spending years as a mortgage broker and I'm learning things from her all the time, she a marathon runner and is currently training for a half iron man, she has a husband Mark and 2 french bull dogs, Wilbur and Napoleon who are equally as fabulous, she seems to know everyone there is to know in this town, she is hilarious and even shares stories at her own expense, and she is the most generous, unpretentious and unassuming person I've met in a very long time. I guess you could say that I kind of love her.

Anyway, I tell you that, to tell you this...Nicole and Mark have a boat, a yacht actually, that is lovingly named "Medium Pimpin'"

Is there a "Big Pimpin'" you might ask...No, there is not, but there is a "Little Pimp'", he is the dingy sitting on top.

So I got to spend a sunday afternoon with them and while we didn't actually sail the boat, it was still a fabulous time!! We bbqed, cracked some beers, and I learned everything I think I ever need to know about the adventures of Burning Man. Here is just a glimpse of the disgusting scenery we were bombarded with....

Thursday, March 25, 2010

This list is to serve as a recap of the last 9 months since I posted in Barcelona. - Returned to the U.S. feeling cultured, fabulous, and exhausted. - Rested in Mammoth and printed thousands of pictures. - Spent a week in San Clemente celebrating my college roommate's wedding, the most fun I've ever had as a bridesmaid! - Spent another week in Grand Rapids, Michigan celebrating my dear friend Cassie from YWAM's wedding. - Started the overwhelming task of finding my first "real" job out of college - Went to Denver in October to visit my Grammie. Saw lots of elk and drank lots of tea. - Flew to Portland to visit my BF Anna - Totally fell in love with Portland and made plans to move there ASAP - Received a call two days later from a PR Agency in LA asking me for an interview ASAP (I had no idea how they came across my resume, until I remembered I had applied for an internship there more 6 months earlier) - Took the interview and was offered a 3 month paid internship with potential for hire - Spent Thanksgiving at DisneyWorld with almost the whole family to celebrate my brother Gabe's safe return from 15 months in Iraq. To date, the best family vacation in my opinion. - Moved into a temporary apartment in Hollywood (when I say that, I mean it...I can see the Hollywood sign from my front door) - Started work at Cohn&Wolfe in West Hollywood - Went home for a white Christmas, my favorite place on the planet to be for Christmas - Continued to adjust to a corporate work environment, a less than 4 mile commute that takes an average of 35 min both ways, and the challenge of living alone is a fabulous and beautiful but notoriously lonely city.

That brings us up to speed. Now, I make no promises or commitments about how often I will be posting, but I'm suddenly feeling motivated to document and process this season of my life in writing.